World of Wire – Wire Facts

Wires and cables hold the world together in our modern age. They carry information and electricity all around the globe, and they are the building block for a myriad of structures from silicon wires that are 10,000 times smaller than a human hair to giant bridges, across which thousands of cars and trucks commute each day.

Wire and cable are a large part of our economy as well, with wire manufacturing operation alone producing revenue of over $16 billion in 2012, not to mention the millions of goods and products that require wires for operation. Cars for example, on average, contain over 1500 wires connecting on-board computers, the radio, power window and locks, lighting, cruise control, and drivetrain and operation components such as the transmission and engine. A lot of that wire is copper, with an average car containing somewhere around 50 pounds of copper per vehicle. There’s even more wire in the walls of your home, with an average of 195 pounds of copper wire in a new home that was constructed in 2010. And that doesn’t even take into account all the appliances such as your refrigerator and washing machines or even you air conditioning systems.

This infographic looks at a number of additional facts and figures about how me use wire and cable and just how pervasive it is in so many areas of daily life. We also discuss the world’s smallest wire, which is 10,000 times smaller than a human hair. At only 4 atoms across and one atom high, it still conducts as well as copper wire!